Northwest Indian College Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943057654
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone
3606762772
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,257,892
Expenses
$621,578
Assets
$14,321,555
Liabilities
$548,945

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIE JOHNSON (PRESIDENT)
  • HENRY CAGEY (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • FRANK LEYVA (2ND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BARBARA LEWIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • BARBARA LEWIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $104,055 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The northwest indian college foundation is committed to addressing the financial gap faced by students attending northwest indian college and assist them in realizing their goals and dreams.

What it reported doing in 2024

The northwestern college foundation provides scholarships and persistence funding to students attending northwest indian college.scholarships are awarded based on financial need, academic achievement, leadership and merit. Persistence funding includes emergency assistance awards and accounts receivable (ar) hold awards that help students remain enrolled, re-enter programs of study, and continue progressing toward degree or certification completion. Emergency assistance awards provide timely support for unseen hardships that could otherwise disrupt a student's education, including assistance with food, housing, transportation, childcare, technology, and other essential needs. Ar hold awards assist students with outstanding institutional balances that prevent registration or continued enrollment, enabling students to return to classes and regain academic momentum. These programs are designed to improve student retention, persistence, and completion outcomes by addressing immediate financial obstacles that disproportionally impact underserved and tribal communities. Through these programs, the foundation works to reduce financial barriers, increase student persistence, and support education opportunities for native american students. Awards are made with in alignment with the foundation's commitment to advancing indigenous education, leadership, and strengthening tribal communities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 69% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 96.2%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 50.6%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 23.04; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 96.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $598K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 16 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $115K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.